Like with all our network tests, also the charging infrastructure tests concentrate on the absolute quality and user experience. The costs for charging are not part of the evaluation. Still, umlaut and connect are very aware that this is a very important aspect for e-car drivers when they chose an EMP or an actual charging station from a CPO. Thus in 2021, we introduced also a check of the charging rates for electric cars.

However, despite decades of experience with rate comparisons in mobile and fixed networks, we discovered that the world of electromobility is still a lot more complicated – especially since this market is considerably younger and thus less mature than the tariff worlds of telecommunications. Based on their project and industry experience, the electric mobility experts at umlaut worked with connect to develop the key points of the modeling for the considered user groups, selected the tariffs to be evaluated, researched all the necessary tariff details and then carried out the sample consumption calculations in coordination with the editorial team.

rate calculations based on real-word user types

The modelling defines three user types: Rare charging, normal charging and frequent charging.

Rare chargers mainly drive short distances and use a small electric car such as the Fiat 500e, Renault Zoe or VW ID.3 for this purpose. Normal chargers drive a mid-range e-car such as Hyundai Kona, Kia e-Niro, Nissan Leaf or Skoda Enyaq. Like the rare chargers, this type also charges regularly at home, but frequent longer trips result in a higher share of charging share on the road. Frequent chargers drive relatively long distances. This type uses a premium e-car such as an Audi e-tron, BMW iX4, Mercedes EQC, Porsche Taycan, etc. and charge it relatively often at HPC stations on the highways. 

Our modeling is based on practical experience with the use of electric cars and public charging stations. Nevertheles, the calculations require some simplifications and additional assumptions: The battery capacities and consumption data are derived from the manufacturers‘ specifications in each use case for the types of e-vehicles which are typical for the respective user types. For the electricity consumption per 100 km we have assumed an average driving style – which is neither particularly easy on the battery nor particularly sporty.

If the tariffs considered include one-off charges, we have allocated them to an operating life of three years in the calculation. If the EMPs charge different prices depending on the charge point operators (CPOs), we consider the ten largest providers in Germany for our modeling and weigh the assumed charges according to their market shares.In the case of HPC (high power charging), the provider Ionity is taken into account in one sixth of the assumed charging processes. This roughly corresponds to its market share of HPC charging points in Germany.

You can find the full report with all results and a more detailed description of our methodology in the download section linked below.